Thanks to funding from John Haskins (Blacksmithing Committee @jhaskins) new wiring and connections have been procured and installed on the VacuFormer. A big thanks to Lance Preston for getting the specialty parts needed and fixing wiring issues.
The VacuFormer can now be plugged into the 3 phase 30A power socket on the Pillar behind the parts washer. It also needs 120VAC for the air/hydraulic system and shop vac. It also needs shop air connected. Some time in the future, the 120VAC will be built into the machine so a separate connection will not be needed.
Can someone work on writing up and laminating a basic instruction sheet to attach to it? Mentioning things like don’t leave it plugged in (leaving heating element going unsupervised would be bad)
To be truly fully functional it still needs a more powerful vacuum system. Every pull during the last class session lacked definition because the suction of a shop vac cannot pull hard enough or quickly enough when the plastic is in a pliable state.
That being said, I’d kick in funds to procure one. It will be a valuable tool when complete.
I have an electric craftsman leaf blower / mulcher thing that we could try out, can anyone suggest a way to measure amount of vacuum it can generate? (it’s designed for cfm, possibly wouldn’t pull much of a vacuum) Would a clear tube filled with water instead of mercury work? Somehow get it connected to ac manifold gauges?
Wasn’t there a huge vacuum pump/tank next to the vacuum former at one point? I think the ideal solution would be a vacuum accumulator/tank that would be “charged” using a pump. Then you’d do the pulls off of the tank, giving an instant and very strong vacuum.
A simple water column could be made unless someone has some mercury which would allow it to be made a lot smaller. Does anyone have one of the old vacuum manifold gauges used for tuning car/ carburetors? Some HVAC gauges can show vacuum (suction) although the scale is usually very small compared to the PSI side.
I can get my hands on a mercury manometer, we have a coffee can full of them. Also I do have a micron gauge we could use just for testing. On a side note just a standard low pressure gauge for manifold set would get a ballpark as well.
I have a large (80 gal?) vertical (small footprint) tank I had originally intended as an accumulator tank for an old vacuum forming project. It will require fittings/adapters, but I would like to donate this to DMS.
I also have a 15amp industrial vacuum pump I would like to donate.
Assuming these would be useful to the DMS, who should I arrange this with?
or you could get better definition (for stuff like rc car shells) by using plastic that isnt 1/8 - 1/16 thick. you guys are putting the effort in the wrong parts of the system
Science doesn’t own the Vacuformer, and they didn’t pay for the recent electrical upgrades to it. Blacksmithing (John Haskins @jhaskins) paid for it and taught the last class for it.
You are right @StanSimmons , he should coordinate with @jhaskins . I re-read that thread of “Do we need a Plastics committee?” where I miss-read “The Science Committee” Sponsoring the Vacuformer. Currently that piece of equipment not officially under any specific committee… Still.
Does anyone have one of the old vacuum manifold gauges used for tuning car/ carburetors? Some HVAC gauges can show vacuum (suction) although the scale is usually very small compared to the PSI side.